The Trump administration has reported that it’s expelled 17 more ‘violent criminals’ to El Salvador, all of whom are from the Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangs. According to the State Department, they were removed Sunday night. They said murderers and rapists were part of the group but didn’t reveal additional details. The Secretary of State made a statement thanking El Salvador for its ‘partnership’ and assuring the American public that these criminals wouldn’t be a threat to the general public anymore. More than 200 immigrants from Venezuela facing deportation were also sent to El Salvador earlier in March and are being held in the same prison. Trump’s administration has also deported people of various nationalities to other Central American countries, but El Salvador is the only one where they can be imprisoned. Human rights and immigration activists have protested against these mass deportations, especially since the departments handling the criminals did not give detailed information about them.
The fact is, Trump’s administration will keep attempting to deport illegal immigrants. The way the deportees are treated is debatable human rights wise, however I expect this treatment to continue given El Salvador’s partnership with the United States. Deportation has always been a hot button topic especially recently, and with the increasing number of forced emigrants, it will only continue to grow in prevalence. When we deport criminals, we eliminate whatever negative effect they had on our country. However, it means that the problem shifts to the countries we send them to. At some point, El Salvador won’t have room. When that happens, what comes next? With the ongoing protests now happening across the US, it is possible that his policies could change, but in my opinion it’s unlikely.
El Salvador so far has been responding positively, saying that the US can send its deportees there. I believe that El Salvador and the US State Department’s opinions are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. But US citizens are an entirely different story. Human rights opinions differ depending on who you ask, and surely Democrats and Republicans are the same way. But if they were shown the video of the prisoners getting hurt, human empathy is sure to shine through at least a little.